Winstanley silently shuffles down the southern corridor, the guys following on a little way behind- noises ahead- a short corridor heads west and ends in a door, ajar- it seems some creatures are enjoying themselves beyond the portal.

More Gnolls, and Hyenas, by the sound of it.

The other adventurers play catch up, then Winstanley sneaks in to see what lies ahead- and comes face-to-face, almost, with another Hyena; a second close by. The chamber is home to a very large metal cage- inside of which is a large, and angry, Dire Boar (its Mr. Grumpy).

The pair of Hyenas however react instantly…

But not before Grey, the Wizard fires a Magic Missile into the first Hyena, the ferocious canines attempt to savage Winstanley- the Halfling is bitten once but reacts instinctively- he stabs the offending Hyena with his Bait & Switch and then rushes on and into the chamber ahead- bad move.

Beyond the cage containing the enraged Mr. Grumpy is a low wall, and beyond that a clutch of Gnolls all armed with longbows- it seems these guys were about to get some target practice on the Dire Boar- now they have a much better target- Winstanley. The Halfling screams gabbling all that he spies.

Hyena- Target practice for the guys.

Another pair of Hyenas appear from beyond the cage and snarl at the Halfling- “Guys!” The little feller is in dire need of back up.

Dirty Cleaves into the closest Hyena (a crit)- the beast explodes in flames- as does his Flaming Maul momentarily, his weapon completes its arc and thumps into another Hyena. Kaspard’s Sacred Flame douses the creature in its burning light. Phrenic steps up and stabs the creature with his Leaf on the Wind attack, it’s bloodied and almost spent. In the turmoil and confusion Dirty shuffles forward into the chamber ahead- and now the Gnolls with bows have two targets. The guys are desperate to get to the smallest member of their team- alas there are still three Hyena’s blocking their route.

“V%!H” Which in Abyssal translates as “Fire!”

The four Gnoll Huntmaster’s take aim and fire- the Halfling, thanks to his Second Chance only takes one hit, the Dwarf also stops an arrow but is Unbreakable- he hardly feels a thing. All of the Hyenas snarl and snap at Dirty’s feet- he’s bitten.

Winstanley scurries back and behind the cage, and behind the great Dire Boar, keeping it between him and the Gnoll Huntmasters, the Rogue spins out a dagger and a Hyena yelps in pain. Dirty’s Crushing Blow leaves another bloodied and close to death. Phrenic follows up with his Steel Monsoon attack and cuts another Hyena down- all of the adventurers shuffle a little closer to Winstanley at his order, and now Phrenic is also out in the open.

“V%!H” That’s still Abyssal for “Fire!”

I’ll give you a clue what happens next- my highest attack roll (unadjusted) is a ‘10’, my lowest is a ‘5’- that’s four misses but a good grouping, the guys giggle- the jammy bastards.

Gnoll Huntmaster- Their bows need calibrating.

Grey fires a Magic Missile into one of the two remaining Hyenas- it too is bloodied, the other manoeuvres but is smashed down dead by Dirty- Winstanley spins out a dagger and ends the last of them.

That’s the pesky Hyenas out of the way…

Dirty screams and rushes forward- straight for the Huntmasters, the Dwarf Charges, leaping the low wall to get at his foes- he bloodies the first Gnoll with just one hit. The Dwarf Fighter is surrounded by the yapping creatures but just grins, happy again to be in the thick of the battle. Kaspard rushes forward, her Radiant Hands flutter after the screaming Dwarf and tag two of Gnoll defenders, one- already smashed by Dirty’s maul, staggers and almost falls. Phrenic follows on after the Dwarf- and although the Tiefling gets into the the thick of the action he fails to make his mark.

Three of the Gnoll Huntmasters instantly manoeuvre, they drop back and fire their bows- Dirty is struck twice. The fourth Huntmaster battles the Dwarf with its hand axe- the Fighter keeps it at bay. Grey’s Scorching Burst erupts amongst the artillery- two more Huntsman suffer burns.

Kaspard’s Blazing Starfall sends radiant shooting beams of light, the badly wounded Huntmaster is slain in its burst, a second suffers. Phrenic takes a step back and conjures his Cloud of Daggers- and yet another Gnoll is stabbed and skewered, the Tiefling yells a few Inspiring Words and Dirty swiftly forgets the pain of his wounds.

Another Gnoll drops its bow and grabs out its hand axe, a moment later it sinks the hatchet into the Dwarf, it buys time for its two compatriots to fall back further- there’s another passage this side of the low wall, and another door- an exit- Dirty screams. The two Huntmasters fire again and Dirty is struck twice more, for a second the Dwarf’s armour flashes and pulses as Kaspard uses her Armour of Bahamut power to deflect the critical hit. The two Huntmasters fall back again to the newly revealed door.

Grey moves forward quickly, spies the problem and fires out a Ray of Frost, one of the pair trying to escape is suddenly slaked in ice, and slowed. Winstanley scurries through Phrenic’s Cloud of Daggers- taking wounds for his troubles, to a spot where he can get to those escaping. After a Perfect Feint the Halfling stabs with his Positioning Strike, bloodying and wrenching his Gnoll victim back into the chamber.

Dirty dashes off leaving the Huntmaster he was fighting- and avoiding its flailing hand axe attack, the Dwarf Charges and smashes into the Gnoll Huntmaster opening the door, and screaming an alarm. Phrenic follows the Dwarf over, and with a Viper’s Strike cuts a Huntmaster dead, the Tiefling then points and orders Dirty to make a Commander’s Strike- the Dwarf obliges and smashes (with a crit) the other fleeing Gnoll down.

The last Gnoll Huntmaster has only one chance- it has to get through Phrenic and Dirty to the door, it rushes forward- slams its hand axe into Tiefling and then rushes on, the Gnoll is screaming- hoping that it will be heard. Dirty turns to face his new enemy- head down the Dwarf Charges forward and smashes the Gnoll with his maul, in the same instant the last Huntmaster is hit by Kaspard’s Sacred Flame- it flops to the cold stone floor and dies.

And approx. ten seconds later the guys figure out that they have once again failed to secure themselves a prisoner- the recriminations begin.

But for now the chamber is taken, and the fight is won, the guys grab the dead and drag them into the center of the chamber- they make sure all of the doors are shut, prior to checking that nothing is approaching- having been alerted by the Gnoll’s screams and calls. The guys hold position- wait a while, just to be sure.

A little while later, after a short rest, the guys take a look around and quickly discover that there’s nothing of interest to be found here, unless… well, that’s if you exclude the massive, and ferocious, Dire Boar- Mr. Grumpy; Dirty promised to bring the beast back alive to the teary Dwarf, Ulthand Deepgem- what was he thinking?